Are you considering taking a Master’s degree in Denmark? Meet Yi Guo from China who finished her Master’s degree in June and now has landed her first job in Denmark.

2019.08.29 | Gitte Bindzus Foldager

Yi Guo, Aarhus University graduate, from China

”It was 23 August 2017.”
Yi Guo from China clearly remembers the day she arrived in Denmark. A day she had anticipated for a long time and had prepared for, for almost as long.

Now she has been in Denmark for more than two years, she has graduated from her Master’s degree in Corporate Communication at Aarhus University and even before she graduated, she had landed her first job – a full time position in the Global Marketing department at the pharmaceutical company, Lundbeck in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“I had an internship during my studies and I also had a student job while studying at Aarhus University, so I knew I liked the working environment in Denmark and that I wanted to stay here after I graduated and try to find a job,” Yi Guo says and continues:

“Since it is really expensive to live in Denmark without an income, I started looking for a job even before I graduated and I applied for several different graduate positions.”

Yi Guo ended up being called in for an interview at Lundbeck and after six interviews in total; she was offered one of the attractive graduate positions.

Why Denmark and not USA or UK?

The reason why Yi Guo decided to study in Denmark in the first place instead of going to USA, UK or Australia as many other Chinese students do was partly that she had been on exchange in Sweden and really liked the Scandinavian teaching methods and study environment.

“When you choose to go abroad for a degree, I think the experience is just as important as the degree, and I really liked the study environment in Scandinavia. I like that you can discuss academic topics not only with your classmates, but also with your teachers. They actually encourage it! And then I had read that Denmark was a very safe country, which was also important to me,” tells Yi Guo and adds that luckily all the reasons why she chose Denmark and Aarhus University was real, and she genuinely enjoyed her time as a student in Aarhus.

“Studying here was very different from China. Both how we interact and how the exams are. Here I read many journals and articles and not just books, like in China, maybe it is also because I studied a Master’s degree here instead of a Bachelor’s, but it was very challenging – in a good way.”

During her Master’s degree Yi Guo had the opportunity to do an internship and work for the Danish clothing company Bestseller for one semester.

“I really liked the opportunity to do an internship here. It helped me reflect on what I learned at university and gain professional and hands-on experience. I would really recommend it to others,” she says.

After graduating, Yi Guo moved to Copenhagen for her new job. When asked how long she expects to stay in Denmark she answers:

“I know I am staying for at least two more years, since the graduate programme at Lundbeck lasts for two years. After that who knows? But I would like to stay. I like the life here and the working conditions. The working environment here is very informal and the hierarchy is flat. I think it helps new people develop better, since it forces you to be more independent.”

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